Berkeley Police Arrest Arson Suspect

BERKELEY, Calif. (KCBS) _ Berkeley police have arrested a man they said is responsible for a suspicious fire in front of Sam's Market on Telegraph Avenue on Tuesday.

The fire was one of several that had been deliberately set on city property in the South Campus area since Friday, July 16.

Berkeley police spokeswoman Sergeant Mary Kusmiss said detectives found 26-year-old Travis Eugene Churchill of Berkeley in People's Park on Tuesday and took him into custody.

"The detectives are convinced that there is a definitive link between the fire that was deliberately set by Mr. Churchill at Sam's Market and the other fires," said Kusmiss.

In all, 13 fires were set near the campus of UC Berkeley between July 16 and July 20.

Kusmiss said Churchill, a homeless man who resides in Berkeley, matched surveillance video from the scene of the Sam's Market fire.